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Leo Edward DeGRAW
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Source : Janet DeGraw | ||||||
| NUMBER OF SERVICE | 32462686 | |||||
| AGE | 22 yo | |||||
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16 February 1921 Newark, Essex County, NEW JERSEY | |||||
| ENLISTMENT STATE | NEW JERSEY | |||||
| FAMILY | Married | |||||
| RANK |
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| FONCTION | Gunner | |||||
| JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Semiskilled furnacemen, smelters, and pourers |  | ||||
| DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 22 August 1942 Newark NEW JERSEY | |||||
| SQUADRON | 551st Bomber Squadron | |||||
| GROUP | 385th Bomber Group, Heavy | |||||
| ARMY | 8th US Air Force | |||||
| DATE OF DEATH | 5 December 1943 |
Source : Andy | ||||
| STATUS | MIA | |||||
| PLACE OF DEATH | in sea - 6 km of Lacanau | |||||
| FLIGHT PLAN |
B-17 Fortress - type F-55-DL - s/n 42-3397 HR* "The Fighting Cock"
Macr : 1337 Takeoff station 155 Great Ashfield Suffolk Pilot places aircraft on water The rafts are then attacked by the hunters, killing 6 men | |||||
| CEMETERY | RHONE AMERICAN CEMETERY and MEMORIAL of Draguignan | |||||
| GRAVE | Wall of the Missing | |||||
| DECORATION |
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| STORY | ||||||
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Leo Edward DeGraw was a member of the US Air Corps, 385Th Bomb Group, 551St Bomb Squadron. He was one of ten Crew Members aboard the "Fighting Cock" (B-17) that experienced mechanical problems while returning from a bombing mission above Bordeaux, France on December 5, 1943 and dropped out of formation. The Crew was fired upon by two German Fighter planes after dropping out of formation and the B-17 was ditched in the Bay of Biscay (off the coast of France). According to the last survivor of the crash, S/SGT., Stewart H. Day Jr. (from Bath, ME), upon exiting the downed B-17 on life rafts, the 10 Crew members were fired upon from the shore by, what later proved to be Indian Soldiers (once in the British Army) who had been captured by Germans in North Africa. Of the 10 Crew Members aboard the B-17, Leo was one, along with six others that lost their life. His body was never recovered. However, three surviving Crew Members were taken as Prisoners of War. Tablets honoring Soldiers, Airmen, and Sailors missing in action or buried at Sea in WWII can be found at Rhone American Cemetery in France. 1ST. LT. Theodore Kleuser, was the pilot of the B17, named, "The Fightling Cock" that ditched in the Bay of Biscay that frightful day in 1943. According to the last living survivor of the crash, Stewart Day (tail gunner), "He said the pilot, Ted Kleuser, made a beautiful landing on the water - like Chesley Sullenberger did when he landed the Airbus 320, US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 - smooth and very good". | ||||||
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Crew of B-17 Fortress - type F-55-DL - s/n 42-3397 HR"The Fighting Cock"
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| 1Lt | Theodore J. |
KLEUSER | Pilot | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-670568 - AM+3/PH - 1917 Pulaski Co, Arkansas - Son of John et Mary Helen (Barzen) Kleuser |
| 2Lt | John W "Jack" | SLATER | CoPilot | Dead | Cim Am Ardennes Neupre (Belg) | O-804745 - PH - 1923 à Niwot, Colorado - Son of Harry et Hannah Delilah "Anna" (Webb) Slater |
| 1Lt | Frederick D "Fred" | ALBERT | Navigator | Dead | Long Island Nat Cem. Farmingdale, New York | O-797328 - 24 yo - Bronx, New York |
| 1Lt | Thomas H | BETOW | Bomber | Prisoner - Stalag Luft I Barth-Vogelsang | O-738687 - Marion, Wisconsin | |
| Sgt | Ernest Arlington | HIBBARD | Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 35257660 - 30 ans - Né le 29/08/1913 Clay Co, Kentucky - Son of Gilbert G et Gertrude (Reid) Hibbard |
| T/Sgt | Walter V | OLOWNIUK | Radio/Gunner | Prisoner - Stalag Luft III Sagan | 36513459 - Detroit, Michigan | |
| S/Sgt | Stanley | WYSOKINSKI | Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 12059857 - DFC/PH/AM+2 - 23 ans - Né le 09/10/1920 à Dupont, Luzerne Co, Pennsylvania - Son of Sylvester et Albina (Slobodzian) Wysokinski |
| S/Sgt | Stewart H Jr | DAY | Gunner | Prisoner - Stalag 17B Braunau Gneikendorf | 11097469 | |
| S/Sgt | Leo Edward DeGRAW | Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 32462686 - DFC/AM+3/PH - 22 ans |
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| S/Sgt | James W "Red" | O'KEEFE | Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 32447695 - AM+2 - 22 ans - Né le 21/06/1921 New York - Son of James et Corinne (Branigan) O'Keefe - Epoux de Irene E O'Keefe, New York |
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385th Bomb Group - 551st Bomb Squadron, Crew 35 (Mary Pat); B-17, WWII. Front row (L to R): Frederick D. Albert, Thomas H. Betow, Theodore J. Kleuser (pilot), Ruel G. Weikert. Back row: James W. O'Keefe, Leo E. DeGraw, Stewart H. Day Jr., Mushrush (replaced by Ernest Hibbard), Stanley Wysokinaki, and Walter V. Olowniuk. 1ST. LT. Theodore Kleuser, was the pilot of the B17, named, "The Fightling Cock" that ditched in the Bay of Biscay that frightful day in 1943. According to the last living survivor of the crash, Stewart Day (tail gunner), Source : C. Scott |
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| SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Francecrashes39-45.net - Janet DeGRAW (Findagrave.com) - Abmc.gov |
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| PROGRAMMEURS | Victor, Jean-Philippe, Eric, Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |